COPENHAGEN, April 8 (Reuters) – Maersk said on Wednesday the two-week ceasefire agreed between the U.S. and Iran could open some opportunities for vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, but did not yet provide enough security certainty to resume normal operations.
“At this point, we take a cautious approach, and we are not making any changes to specific services,” the Danish shipping group said in a statement to Reuters.
The war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, followed by Iranian attacks across the region and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, has brought shipping in the Gulf to a near standstill, rippling across global supply chains.
Maersk, one of the world’s biggest container shipping groups, last month suspended cargo bookings to many ports in the Gulf region and introduced emergency bunker fuel surcharges around the world to compensate for rising fuel costs.
NO ‘FULL MARITIME CERTAINTY’ YET FROM CEASEFIRE
“The ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but it does not yet provide full maritime certainty and we need to understand all potential conditions attached,” Maersk said.
“Any decision to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be based on continuous risk assessments, close monitoring of the security situation, and available guidance from relevant authorities and partners,” it said.
The company has used a “land-bridge” system via ports in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Salalah and Sohar in Oman, and Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, to funnel in cargo before moving it by land to destinations across the Gulf region.
“We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as greater clarity emerges over the coming hours and days,” it said.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette Baum)